21-Draw-Illustrators-Guidebook-vol-2-ebook-(2021)

USING COLOR AND LIGHT
TO TELL A STORY
Light and color are inseparable—
they’re a big part of the identity of
a project and have a large influence
on how the viewer will respond to
an image. Both can enhance a story
and the message of your artwork.
The color choices you make for
your character will depend on the
character’s personality, but it will also
be affected by the color you add to
the light to create a specific mood.
Color and light can contain many
shades and messages.
THE BASICS:
These are the main colors you
will find on the color wheel: the
primary colors (blue, red, yellow),
the secondary colors (purple, green,
orange), and the complementary
colors.
EACH COLOR HAS THREE
ATTRIBUTES:
• Hue: the color you choose
• Saturation: intensity of your color
HUE
SATURATION
VALUE (BRIGHTNESS)
• Value: how light or dark a color is
COLOR CHOICES
I tend to work intuitively while making
color choices, because I think color is
mostly about feeling. Color theory has
many harmony possibilities, but I don’t use
a formula to create great combinations.
I prefer to choose colors that convey
meaning to me.
Colors can communicate a great deal about
a character. While painting, try to keep in
mind the story narrative and a sense of your
character.
Bright and vivid colors will express an
optimistic, dynamic, joyous, and fun feeling,
while desaturated colors appear calmer,
serious, and evoke a dull and sad feeling.
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